Child Prostitution: Self Respect vs. The Fundamental Needs of Man

 Sunday, February 14, 2010     Two Soccer Legends 

Racheal Nyepon

     Poverty, emotional and economic issues are the most damaging assaults any individual can endure, because when the society in which the individual resides is experiencing economic turbulence, things become even more unberable because of the obvious lack or resources. 

     As a result of that economic distress in society, many young girls and boys turn to prostitution as a means of surviving on a daily basis. Liberia in particular has a growing rate of child prostitution, and once impoverishment has a hold on a society it becomes the composer of corruption, crime and evil, and as Gandhi once said, “To man with an empty stomach, food is God.” 

     Hunger can drive a man to do many absurd things including selling his own body and his temple just to survive another day.  As long as poverty and education continues to hinder national development, prostitution of children will be an engrained part of that society. It is a never-ending cycle in which only a government—national or international can step in to finally stop the abuse of these children. Impotent government legislations and impotent safety and educational programs will only lead to uninspired youths, who will worry more about their existence than getting the education they need to be productive citizens. 

      During an international conference on AIDS in 1996, held by the Save The Children Fund in UK London, England, young girls ages 12 to 19, disclosed that between 1989 and 1995, during the civil war, Monrovia, which was being protected by external troops embodied hundreds of young girls that were in the sex trade. The disturbing part of the interview revealed that the girls had their first sexual encounters when they were between the ages of 9 and 13; and also revealed that their clients were mostly military personnel who were suppose to be protecting and creating a safe environment for them. Instead of protecting and creating a safe environment for these young girls, the military personnel traded sexual favors for food, water and cash to have the girls.

     Liberia still faces a pandemic of child prostitution with more than half of its children immersed in this hazardous and harrowing business. Although many of the girls do indeed sell their bodies for food and shelter, many of them use sexual favors as a way of getting material things. Investigators uncovered a tragic truth that the UN peacekeepers and aid agency staffs are the main abusers of these young girls. Sadly, these prosperous and authoritarian foreigners are the same people who ‘preached’ to the girls about sexual alertness, sexual injustices, HIV/AIDS, and then when the sun stops shining, these shameless men are the ones who cultivates the sexual exploitation of these vulnerable girls and boys as young as 9 years of age. 

     Materials such as flashy clothes, alcohol, perfumes, cell phones, and drugs are some of the things these girls sell themselves for. Men who use their positions of authority to take advantage of these children that are in need of love, care and attention should not be tolerated in Liberia. Educators, military personnel and others should not be infringing their sovereignty over the extreme poverty of women and girls in the local settings to exploit them for sex.

     These girls know no better way of making money or knowing how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Many believe this is the best and fastest way to make money, and the cost of innocence is of no consequence to them. Most of them won’t use condoms because they believe it will cause cancer of the vagina. 

     After she was elected president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf promised to take on sexual abuse and exploitation of girls and women, and went on to legislate a new rape bill. During that period, she swore: “Nobody will abuse our girls and women and get away with it.” Although Sirleaf was genuine in her promise, this will not and does not stop the girls from selling their bodies. Most of these girls are in homes run by only mothers taking care of multiple children. A number of fathers were killed in the war, or some fathers simply do not have enough to care for their family. Thus, the girls turn to prostitution, and the parents feel blessed to get the money. But if the young girl becomes pregnant and the man refuses to support her, the parents may throw her out of their home leaving her to care for herself as well as her child.

     While it is true that young girls live in constant fear when they engages in what is seen as prostitution, the men fear nothing, and are not even afraid of being caught and persecuted as pedophiles or criminals because they know that the legislations on sexual abuse of children in Liberia will not be enforced.

     There are over 230,000 children in Liberia that are deserted, orphaned, or are not getting proper care from their parents or from the Liberian government. However, the few lucky children that are adopted and put into loving, nurturing homes in the U. S. have to face governmental issues that threaten to put them back into the environment in which they were lucky enough to escape. Between 2003 and 2008, 1,200 Liberian orphaned children were adopted, thanks to The West African Children Support Network (WACSN), but the foster parents were hassled by the Ministry of Health (MOH), for phony accusations of child trafficking. WACSN is one of the few services in Liberia that continues to help children live a better life.

     Programs need to be designed to assist young girls and boys to acquire skills that will improve their lives and improve their chances of becoming productive citizens; and education is one of the key aspects that Liberia needs to focus on in order to start the process of keeping its children off the streets and halt the prostitution of kids.

     Journalist and West African Children Support Network (WACSN-Liberia) Country Director, Francis Nyepon reminded us when he wrote these words about the positive role of education in our lives: “Education is pivotal in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty in Liberia, especially the social exclusion that is the reality for many children.” 

     Without education these future leaders of Liberia cannot use the powerful potential they hold in their hands to stop the vicious cycle of poverty in the country.

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